TV – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

MATCH OF THE DAY was reduced to a 20 minute production without any commentary, punditry or studio chit-chat. It actually worked tremendously well, forcing the viewer to listen to the crowd, watch the action more closely and feel as though you’d just opened a window onto the game from an adjoining house or apartment. There was something quite refreshing about it and the BBC could steal a march by introducing an option where you can receive MOTD without any of the trimmings.

That’s not to say they are excused for their behaviour over Gary Lineker, who dared to suggest the UK government were out of order with their latest half-baked attempt to win votes over the global migrant problem. This subject matter has, for the past few years, been one of the great taproom debates, littered with inaccuracies, political editing and pure, shameful racism. Most rational people may share Lineker’s personal view over the Trumpian slogan “stop the boats”. The BBC may be acting like insurance companies who look for small print reasons NOT to do something, but Lineker was excercising his right to speak freely as a UK citizen. If his comparison with Nazi Germany hit a raw nerve, then the reaction has only fuelled issues over freedom of speech. The BBC is no different to many organisations, who have used an individual’s social media output as a reason to serve a dismissal notice.

The BBC are the losers because their treatment of the former England striker has once more brought the issue of the broadcaster into the public eye once more. As for Lineker’s ability, he is an excellent frontman for a TV show that has struggled to maintain its position in the footballing diet. Furthermore, he is one of the few former professionals that are genuinely worth listening to: intelligent, considered, humorous and honest. In a sport that is laden with cliché and jargon, he offers an alternative.

The quality of punditry in UK football is, generally, very mediocre. To many of the old pros are too close to the game in various ways, calling everyone by their first names, unwilling to criticise, too quick to use one of a long list of clichés to respond to every question. They must have so many splinters on their backsides owing to their penchant for sitting on that big five-bar fence. And, even more irritating, is their unshamed bias towards their old clubs. How many Jamie Carraghers can you from the employment agency for pundits that seems to deal solely on providing former Liverpool and Manchester United players? The viewers shouldn’t have to listen to squeals of excitement when the goals of their old clubs find the back of the net. There needs to be impartiality…oh, there’s that word again.

Lineker knows the game and is articulate enough to present it professionally and with authentic viewpoints. While the BBC may say they have given him profile, Lineker has effectively saved Match of the Day in an age of increased competition and options. Lineker has given the BBC profile.

We don’t need obedient robots, afraid to express objectivity, if football presenters and pundits are there to enhance the offering, so many fall short of that goal. Gary Lineker will have no shortage of offers if he decides to leave the BBC, who are clearly in crisis and have lost credibility. What happened after this shabby affair has not only made them a laughing stock, however, it is another blow to the ailing reputation of a country where it is easy to assume nothing really works anymore.

BEFORE football became the plaything of broadcasters, governments and corporates, big clubs could be found in almost every country in Europe. A club wasn’t considered big by merely having a huge bank balance, but more by its place in society. Hence, any list of the world’s most influential clubs would include those that were systemic in their own market – in other words, a giant in their domestic league and a force in European football. Today, a club’s revenues, wage bill, brand power and social media presence are every bit as important. This shift, coupled with the collapse of state-supported clubs in the old communist bloc, has changed the pecking order in global football.

Eastern Europe, for example, once had a number of giant clubs that were feared opponents in the European Cup, Cup-Winners’ Cup and Fairs Cup/UEFA Cup. The names of these clubs have lived on, even if their position in the food chain has undoubtedly changed. This year, I undertook a river cruise down the Danube into eastern Europe, a trip that was delayed by covid, but one that would include five different countries and some famous locations. I had longed to visit some of these cities, most of which had been brought to my attention via football when I was a boy.

In particular, I was looking forward to venturing into Belgrade and Bucharest, the final stop on the journey. I always judge how much of a football city a location is by the amount of time it takes to bump into evidence of the game when you arrive. Before we landed in Serbia, we were in Osijek, Croatia, a city with a top flight club. I was expecting some grafitti extolling the virtues of the local team, but instead, there were plenty of “Bad Blue Boys” artwork, the ultra group of Dinamo Zagreb, the club that dominates Croatian football.

Into the Serbian capital, there was no doubt about the status of the big two clubs, Red Star Belgrade and Partizan. Although these two slug it out for bragging rights, year-in, year-out, I was told that something like 70% of the population of Serbia like Red Star. They are certainly seen as a flag-bearer for Serbian football, boosted by their European Cup win back in 1991, but the recent troubled history of the region has also played its part. I have to admit, I felt a little shamed at my lack of knowledge about the Balkan wars.

There is a plethora of countries where everyone you meet seems to be a fan of the most well-known club. The travelling Portuguese all seem to be Benfica supporters, which probably has something to do with the fact that many of them originate from the capital, Lisbon. As for Spain, clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona have fans all over the world, their fame spreading thanks to their success and the legend that grew around them – long before people were employed to develop and export their brand. Go to Spain and it doesn’t take long before you bump into Real, Barca, Atlético, Sevilla and Bilbao, it is one of the most naturally intense football nations in the world. Italy is similar and Juventus seems to appeal to fans all over the country, partly due to the industrial development of Turin, which drew workers from all corners.

In England, the two names with the greatest footprint are Manchester United and Liverpool, despite the efforts being made by the London clubs and Manchester City. Both became popular due to their exploits in Europe – United in the 1950s, a period sadly curtailed by the Munich crash and Liverpool in the late 1970s and 1980s. Today success is measured by how much energy is placed behind marketing a club, “growing the global presence”.

While broadcasting money has made some Premier League clubs “larger” than others that have long and fruitful European histories as well as huge fanbases, it is a sad fact that some football institutions that have been pivotal in the evolution of the game have a bigger “name” than their commercial appeal.

In Bucharest, the name “Steaua” appears on walls, tunnels and bridges, but the recent story of the only Romanian club to win a European prize is confusing. Ongoing disputes over use of the name mean there are two clubs claiming the heritage of Steaua Bucharest. Steaua, Rapid and Dinamo were all part of a vibrant football scene in Bucharest, but the possibility of these mingling with the Real Madrids and Bayern Munichs on a frequent basis would seem unlikely. Since Steaua won the European Cup in 1986, attendances in Romania have declined by 75%.

There is a correlation between national economies and the position of a country’s football. The top clubs in Europe today come from five of the top six economies: Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain. Money, in the form of sovereign wealth funds, broadcasters, oil billionaires and financial institutions, has been drawn to market potential. Yet the challenged football markets of Europe still have clubs that once captured the imagination of fans around the continent. There was once a sense of mystery and romance about crack sides from the east, something which has been lost due to familiarity and globalisation. But you cannot take away their history or their place in the culture of their respective countries. And while they may not sit at the very top table, they should still command our respect.

This article first appeared in Football Weekends magazine.